Unpacking teachers’ reflective thinking levels in online teacher professional development: Insight from Indonesian EFL teachers

Abstract

Reflective thinking is essential for English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers, as they help them evaluate their teaching strategies and understand the reasons behind different classroom occurrences. This case study explores the levels of reflective thinking of EFL teachers who participated in a 6-week online writing teacher professional development (OTPD) program to improve their writing of best practice papers. The data were collected from the written reflective journals and interviews of 16 EFL teachers, while thematic analysis was conducted using Hatton and Smith’s (1995) concept of RTL. The findings indicate that the EFL teachers in the research demonstrated different levels of reflective thinking. The majority of these teachers were at the higher level of dialogic reflection, suggesting a commitment to critically examining and improving their teaching practices. However, there was also a smaller group of teachers who exhibited a lower level of reflection, primarily characterized by descriptive reflection, indicating that their reflective thinking was less critical. Assessing teachers’ reflective thinking levels helps professional development facilitators and the government tailor programs to meet teachers’ specific needs by identifying gaps in their reflective thinking processes. It can inform the design of targeted training that enhances teachers’ ability to critically evaluate and refine their teaching practices by providing a structured framework for differentiated professional growth, ensuring that teachers at different levels of reflective thinking receive appropriate approaches, resources, and strategies.